Assessing Rural Farmers Environmental Literacy Level (Case Study: Villages of Zoeram Dehestan in Shirvan District)

The outbreak of environmental problems and its increasing trend is the subject of study in the environmental literacy framework for many experts. The role and impact of rural farmers on reducing the environmental problems is significant. Farmers possess and cultivate large areas of national land, so they may cause irreparable damage to the quality of earth and environment, if they lack environmental literacy such as knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Based on this, the aim of the present research is to study the environmental literacy level of farmers in the above mentioned dimensions. Therefore, problems involving these issues will be solved by teaching rural farmers.
Methodology of the present study is descriptive-analytical done through data collection, along with library and field studies. Statistical population of the research includes all families in villages of rural district of Zoeram located in Shirvan, of whom just 139 heads of families were chosen as the sample by Cochran formula. A questionnaire was the main tool of the research. Validity and reliability of the test was calculated respectively through Specialized Panel and Cronbach Alpha. Using a T-test, the findings of the research revealed that the level of knowledge and environmental awareness in rural farmers is average and environmental behavior is lower than average. In addition, the correlation coefficient showed that there is a direct and significant relationship between dimensions of environmental literacy (knowledge, attitude, and behavior). Finally, applying the Vikor’s model, we got the result that above mentioned farmers possess different and unequal levels of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding environmental literacy.